50 Things You Never Knew About Red Hot Chili Peppers

On their mercurial frontman Anthony Kiedis’ birthday (November 1), here’s 50 things you might not know about Red Hot Chili Peppers. The band’s original name was Tony Flow And The Miraculously Majestic Masters Of Mayhem. Their first gig was at California’s Rhythm Lounge – they played to a crowd of about 30 people, opening for Gary and Neighbor’s Voices.

New guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has played with a variety of other musicians. As well as his own band The Bicycle Thief, he’s joined up with everyone from P J Harvey to Tricky, Warpaint and Gnarls Barkley.

The cover for ‘Stadium Arcadium’ was created by Storn Thorgerson, a graphic designer famous for his work with Pink Floyd, T Rex and The Mars Volta. However, the band rejected his ideas and went with their own, which Storm subsequently dismissed.

‘Desecration Smile’ is about Anthony Kiedis relationship with his ex-wife. When sings about being “Serenaded by the terror bird,” he’s referring to a band called The Terrors, who Heather took him to see.

The following year, during a taping of MTV’s Spring Break in Florida, Flea and Chad Smith were found guilty of battery, discorderly conduct and solicitation after they jumped off the stage, grabbed a woman and started to spank her.

In the episode of The Simpsons the band appear in, they are asked to change the lyrics of ‘Give It Away’ from “ What I’ve got, I’ve got to get and put it in you,” to “What I’d like, is I’d like to hug and kiss you”.

Some people say Chad Smith looks like Will Ferrell. The comparisons came so thick and fast he appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien in 2009 wearing a t-shirt that read “I am not Will Ferrell”.